Low Take It Slow

Silence is golden, so the saying goes. Nobody knows this better than Low, the Duluth, Minn. trio playing at the Cat's Cradle next Wednesday night.

Although a lot of modern music tries to cram as much sound as possible into your ears, Low focus as much on the space between notes as they do on the notes themselves. The band takes a gentle, plodding pace in their songs, rarely rising above the speed of a heartbeat. As a result, their haunting music breathes, letting the subtle interplay between the vocals and the instruments rises to the surface. Low's music is fragile and brutal and beautiful all at once.

The band features the husband and wife team of Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker, on guitar and percussion respectively, along with Zak Sally on bass and keyboards. But the highlight of the music is surely the gorgeous harmonies from the perfectly matched voices of Sparhawk and Parker. Hearing them sing, you understand exactly why they are married. Evidence of that intimacy is infused throughout the band's fifth and latest record, Things We Lost in the Fire. It is an album of tension and release, ugliness and grace. The album expands the band's palette a little, with the regular instruments accompanied by strings, trumpet and xylophone. Still, the additions never overwhelm the space within the music. The new songs will translate well into live performance, which is sure to make Low's show on Wednesday one of the best local shows of the semester.